Meet your everyday heroes; marathon runners. Not only will they run circles around you in a literal sense, but they have more determination and grit in their little finger than most of us do in our whole body. RunFun Travel, headed by Fran Seton, connects runners to marathons around the world. Most recently, the group ran in the New York City Marathon, and topped it off with an unforgettable team Travelshoot.
Fran took a quick break to catch her breath from all that running and chatted to us about her business and their Travelshoot experience.
Please tell us a bit about yourself!
I am the owner/manager of RunFun Travel, a business specialising in taking runners to Marathons around the world. My husband and I have been involved with marathons for decades. Sport and running have been my passions since I was a child and we continue to run and exercise still. We both worked for the Sydney Olympics and are now living the sporting dream, working for ourselves in the marathon world.
What took you to New York? Could you please tell us a bit about the marathon and RunFun Travel?
We had a group of runners in New York for the TCS New York City Marathon. The NYCM is the biggest marathon in the world and the city comes alive every year and truly embraces the event. The atmosphere is incomparable. We do this trip on an annual basis and it is always such a joy to see the excitement of the runners as they take on NY. The anticipation and sense of achievement is unbelievable. Being able to share this remarkable journey with the runners is enormously enjoyable.
What do you enjoy he most about combining exercise and marathons with travel?
What's not to love! We travel the world going to marathons and the energy is extraordinary. There is just nothing quite like it. People who run marathons are different (in such a positive way) - it takes real guts and determination to train for a marathon, spend hours our running every week and then on that one day put it all on the line. The level of mental strength in the runners is just so admirable. Our groups are always fabulous too. We have the best times together and we always come away with far more friends at the end of the trip.
How was your Travelshoot? What were your favourite parts?
Our Travelshoot was a great day and our photographer was brilliant. There were eight of us - three couples and two sisters, it was like a bunch of old friends coming together for their school reunion. We started in Central Park and got the "must have" shots, and then moved into the streets and got some fabulous pictures down 5th Ave. The best part of the day was sharing the experience with the runners and seeing the absolute delight on their faces.
Why do you believe capturing photos are an important part to travel - particularly for athletes?
We are often travelling around the world, and this was the first time that we have come home with the unbelievable memories that Travelshoot provided. I can see us having Travelshoots all over the world in the future; if you're not in the photo, you may as well have a postcard. For our runners, they had their NYCM medals in hand, making the whole experience so special and one that could never be repeated. It was a moment in time for them, they had completed their NYCM and they now have the photographic memories forever. For me, I am just so pleased that we were able to provide them with this experience. We will be involving Travelshoot in all our marathon trips from now on.
Take your team on a Travelshoot!